Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
1930-1940
Theme 1
Government and the People
Great
Crash
World Payments
Investors
Investors
lose
millions.
Businesse
s lose
profits.
Businesses
and Workers
Consumer
spending
drops.
Businesses
Worker cut
investment
s are
laid off. and
production
production.
Some fail.
Banks
Overall U.S.
production
plummets.
Businesses
U.S.
and workers
Allies cannot
investors
cannot
pay debts to
have little or
repay bank
United
no
money to
or no
loans.
States.
Savings
invest.
money to
Banks
accounts
invest.
run out
are
of
Europeans
U.S.
wiped
money cannot
investment
out.
and fail. afford
s in
Bank
American
Germany
runs
goods.
decline.
occur
German war
.
payments to
Allies fall
off.
An Unstable
Economy
Overspeculation
Government
Policies
During the 1920s, the Federal Reserve System cut interest rates to
assist economic growth.
In 1929, it limited the money supply to discourage lending.
As a result, there was too little money in circulation to help the
economy after the Great Crash.
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Signs of Change
Chapter 15, Section 3
Franklin Roosevelt
Believed that government had a
responsibility to help people in
need.
Called for a reappraisal of values
and more controls on big
business.
Helped many Americans reassess
the importance of making it on
their own without any help.
Much of his support came from
urban workers, coal miners, and
immigrants in need of federal
relief.
Roosevelt won 57 percent of the
popular vote and almost 89
percent of the electoral vote.
Herbert Hoover
Believed that federal government
should not try to fix peoples
problems.
Argued that federal aid and
government policies to help the
poor would alter the foundation
of our national life.
He argued for voluntary aid to
help the poor and argued against
giving the national government
more power.
Hoover gave very few campaign
speeches and was jeered by
crowds.
What was one way President Hoover wanted to battle the Depression?
(A) Federal relief programs
(B) U.S. expansion into foreign markets
(C) Stock market investment
(D) Voluntary aid
Roosevelt won public support from which groups?
(A) Urban workers and coal miners
(B) Big business executives
(C) Supporters of international trade
(D) Journalists and newspaper publishers
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What was one way President Hoover wanted to battle the Depression?
(A) Federal relief programs
(B) U.S. expansion into foreign markets
(C) Stock market investment
(D) Voluntary aid
Roosevelt won public support from which groups?
(A) Urban workers and coal miners
(B) Big business executives
(C) Supporters of international trade
(D) Journalists and newspaper publishers
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Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) and Eleanor Roosevelt, the First Lady,
knew that restoring a sense of hope and building public confidence were
essential to calming panic and creating support for the Presidents plans.
FDR promised a new deal for the American people, but he did not have a
sure plan for it. The term New Deal came to refer to the relief, recovery, and
reform programs of FDRs administration that were aimed at combating the
Great Depression.
In the first hundred days of his presidency, Roosevelt pushed many
programs through Congress to provide relief, create jobs, and stimulate
the economy.
Some of FDRs programs were based on the work of federal agencies that
had controlled the economy during World War I and on agencies created
by state governments to ease the Depression.
Former Progressives figured prominently, inspiring New Deal legislation or
administering programs.
Stabilizing
Financial
Institutions
Providing
Relief and
Creating
Jobs
Regulating
the
Economy
Assisting
Homeowners
and
Farmers
Frances Perkins was the first woman Cabinet member. What post did she
hold?
(A) Secretary of Defense
(B) Secretary of the Interior
(C) Energy Secretary
(D) Secretary of Labor
How did the National Recovery Administration try to balance the unstable
economy?
(A) By raising interest rates
(B) By limiting the money supply
(C) By establishing codes for fair business practices
(D) By creating a Social Security system
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Frances Perkins was the first woman Cabinet member. What post did she
hold?
(A) Secretary of Defense
(B) Secretary of the Interior
(C) Energy Secretary
(D) Secretary of Labor
How did the National Recovery Administration try to balance the unstable
economy?
(A) By raising interest rates
(B) By limiting the money supply
(C) By establishing codes for fair business practices
(D) By creating a Social Security system
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Theme 2
Who are the Americans
African-American Activism
Chapter 16, Section 1
African-American Activism
Mexican-American Fortunes
Labor Disputes
Sit-down strike important bargaining tactic of 1930s
prevents owners from hiring strikebreakers
NLRB forces Republic Steel to negotiate after clash with
strikers
Radio Entertains
90% of households have a radio; families listen together
every day
Dramas, variety shows play in evening
Orson Wellesactor, director, producer, writer
Soap operas for homemakers broadcast in middle of day
Childrens shows after school hours
Immediate news coverage becomes customary
Theme 3
Economic and Social Change
Poverty Spreads
Chapter 15, Section 2
Impact on Health
Stresses on
Families
Discrimination
Increases
What factors contributed to disaster for farming families living in the Dust
Bowl?
(A) Drought
(B) Farmers plowing under prairie grasses
(C) Decreased prices for agricultural goods
(D) All of the above
The shanty towns made up of temporary shacks were called:
(A) Roosevilles
(B) Hoovervilles
(C) Greenspans
(D) Simpson towns
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What factors contributed to disaster for farming families living in the Dust
Bowl?
(A) Drought
(B) Farmers plowing under prairie grasses
(C) Decreased prices for agricultural goods
(D) All of the above
The shanty towns made up of temporary shacks were called:
(A) Roosevilles
(B) Hoovervilles
(C) Greenspans
(D) Simpson towns
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Political Critics
Chapter 16, Section 2
Other Critics
Chapter 16, Section 2
Some other New Deal critics were demagogues, leaders who manipulate
people with half-truths, deceptive promises, and scare tactics.
One such demagogue was Father Charles E. Coughlin. At times Father
Coughlin contradicted himself. One time he advocated the nationalization,
or government takeover and ownership, of banks and the redistribution of
wealth. Another time he defended the sanctity of private property. At first
he supported the New Deal, later he described Roosevelt as a great
betrayer and liar. By the end of the 1930s Coughlin was issuing antiJewish statements and showering praise on Adolf Hitler and Benito
Mussolini, two menacing leaders in Europe.
Huey Long, one time governor of Louisiana, and then United States
senator, was another type of demagogue. Long called for a redistribution
of wealth in the United States. Long developed a program called ShareOur-Wealth. The goal was to limit individual personal wealth and increase
the minimal income of all citizens. Long also called for increased benefits
for veterans, shorter working hours, payments for education, and pensions
for the elderly.
Modern-Day Critics
Chapter 16, Section 2
Some historians and economists believe that the New Deal did not achieve
the greatest good for the greatest number of Americans. They argue that
New Deal programs hindered economic progress and threatened Americas
core beliefs in free enterprise. They also charge that the programs created
a bloated and powerful federal government and encouraged inefficient use
of resources.
Modern critics also attack the policy of paying farmers not to plant. In a
time of hunger, the program wasted precious resources. Farm production
quotas penalized efficient and less-efficient farmers equally, while the free
market would have weeded out inefficiency and rewarded productivity.
Finally, the New Deal receives criticism from people who oppose deficit
spendingpaying out more money from the annual federal budget than the
government receives in revenues.
Debate about the New Deal continues today. Critics believe that the
programs violated the free market system. Supporters believe that
providing relief to the poor and unemployed was worth the compromise.
Roosevelt received criticism not only for his programs, but for his actions.
None aroused more suspicion than his attempt to pack the Supreme court.
Roosevelt, in an effort to gain more support in the Supreme Court, proposed a
major court-reform bill. He recommended that Congress allow him to add six
additional Supreme Court justices, one for every justice over 70 years old. His
argument was that this would lighten the case load for aging justices. His real
intention, however, was to pack the Court with judges supportive of the New
Deal.
Critics warned that FDR was trying to undermine the constitutional separation
of powers. They were concerned that Roosevelt was trying to gain unchecked
powers, which was a serious concern in a time when several dictators ruling in
Europe tilted their countries toward tyranny.
In the end, FDR still wound up with a Court that tended to side with him. Some
of the older justices retired and Roosevelt was able to appoint justices who
favored the New Deal. However, he also suffered political damage. Many
Republicans and southern Democrats united against New Deal legislation. This
alliance remained a force for years to come.
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Unions Triumph
Chapter 16, Section 3
Literature: Pearl Bucks The Good Earth (1931), Zora Neale Hurstons
Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937), and John Steinbecks The
Grapes of Wrath (1939) were all Depression-era novels that were
destined to become classics. James Agee and Walker Evans lived with
Alabama sharecroppers to produce their nonfiction masterpiece Let
Us Now Praise Famous Men (1941).
The WPA and the Arts: FDR believed that the arts were not luxuries.
He earmarked WPA funds to support unemployed artists, musicians,
historians, theater people, and writers.
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Theme 4
The U.S.A. and the World